So you just stabbed, sliced, or gored in some way a few {{mook}}s or perhaps [[BigBad someone more important]].

But wait, there's blood on your sword! [[{{Squick}} Eww, gross]]! No worries, just perform a swift cutting motion and all that nasty gunk will fly right off (possibly leaving a cool, dramatic splatter on the floor [[CameraAbuse and/or camera]])!

It's called [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chiburi chiburui]] in RealLife, but it was more common to clean the sword on a convenient piece of cloth (such as that worn by the dead enemy).

Other liquids (such as water or oil) [[SymbolicBlood don't usually count]], unless there's [[WhatDoYouMeanItsNotSymbolic some symbolism]] to it.

In many recent Japanese films, because the blood is often CGI, this method will be shown as completely effective. This leads to a case of [[RealityIsUnrealistic Reality Being Unrealistic]], as the act of chiburi does not completely clean a blade. If there's enough blood on the sword, it won't even prevent rust. Samurai would often wipe their blade off after performing chiburi to ensure it was clean before sheathing it. [[LawOfConservationOfDetail But don't expect to see that part]].

Related to FinishingMove and VictoryPose (as part of the flair that goes with it), and while not exclusive to katanas( [[RuleOfCool sometimes not even exclusive to swords]]), the [[KatanasAreJustBetter katana looks best for it.]] This may be because it was originally a katana technique (more or less). Compare SmokingBarrelBlowout.----!!Examples:

[[AC:{{Anime}} and {{Manga}}]]* The scene in ''SamuraiChamploo'' after [[spoiler:Kariya Kagetoki cuts down Jin.]]** Jin does this after killing some elite bodyguards who were blocking his path in the first episode.* ''RurouniKenshin'', being a JidaiGeki, has this all the time; even Kenshin himself does it a few times despite his ThouShaltNotKill vow and reversed sword blade. Old habits die hard.** Averted, however, in the ''Tsuiokuhen'' OVA: as Battousai, Kenshin would clean his blade with rice paper immediately after every successful assassination.* The titular warriors of ''{{Claymore}}'' seem to have a fondness for this. An EstablishingCharacterMoment for Theresa of the Faint Smile was her splattering bystanders thus after a kill.* Used ''extremely'' frequently in ''Manga/{{Bleach}}''. Usually it's done after a SingleStrokeBattle to emphasize how effortlessly the victor won.* In ''SoulEater'', Medusa does this to Eriku and the eldest Mizune sister. It's done with drool after she shoves her hands in their mouthes to make them shut up. [[spoiler: It turns out to be a bit of subtle forshadowing, as she later reveals she did this to [[BodyHorror implant them with snakes]] which allow her to kill them at any time]].* At the end of ''CodeGeass'', when Zero [[spoiler:Suzaku]] kills [[spoiler:Lelouch]].* Averted in ''LoneWolfAndCub''; Ogami Itto and other bushi characters wipe them off after a fight, no swiping involved. Seeing the nature of the manga, [[ShownTheirWork that is to be expected]].* Done in ''HighSchoolOfTheDead'' with a [[BatterUp Baseball Bat]].* Guts does this with his {{BFS}} after killing Bazuso during the opening scene of the first ''{{Berserk}}'' movie.* Performed by Kirito of ''LightNovel/SwordArtOnline'' after finishing off enemies he fights in the game.** This becomes a habit later [[spoiler: after he returns to his normal life and practices kendo with his adoptive sister.]]

[[AC:{{Film}}]]* Happens several times in the Crazy 88 battle in ''Film/KillBill'', as well as after the fight between O-Ren and The Bride.** ''And'' when O-Ren deals with the belligerant Yakuza boss.* Done somewhat by ''[[Film/ThreeHundred 300]]'' where a scene shows blood being flung off a thrust spearhead.* Referenced in ''Film/TheLastSamurai''. After beheading his former comrade, Katsumoto's sole act of cleaning his weapon is something of a flick of the sword. * Interestingly, the ronin bodyguard does this several times in ''Film/{{Zatoichi}}'', which uses CGI blood, but there's usually still blood on his sword when he sheaths it.

[[AC:{{Literature}}]]* In Creator/RogerZelazny's ''Literature/TheChroniclesOfAmber'', Merlin at one point finds himself in possession of a vorpal sword. He discovers while using it that swiping the air cleans it perfectly. Probably justified for a collapsible blade that "seemed to be made of moth wings and folded moonlight".* Diagonally used in ''Tower of the Elephant'' by Robert E. Howard. Conan wipes his blade on the grass after slaying the lion guards of the tower. Noted because it serves the same purpose (symbolic cleaning of the sword) but averts the cleanliness of merely shaking it off, adding a barbaric twist to the trope.* ''Literature/TheChroniclesOfNarnia: Literature/TheLionTheWitchAndTheWardrobe'' averts this when Peter saves his sister from a wolf by killing him with his sword. When Aslan comes onto the scene, his first comment that Peter has not cleaned his sword. Peter does so and the lion dubs him with an honorific, followed by the advice to always clean his sword. ** It's a bit of a RunningGag in the series, all the way up to ''Literature/TheLastBattle'' when the King reprimands Eustace for putting his sword back in the sheath bloody. There's also a few mentions of this trope being averted when they wipe the blade on the grass.* Galad does this in ''WheelOfTime'', but characters usually just clean their weapons with a cloth, because the swipe is not 100% effective.

[[AC:VideoGames]]* In the ''{{Onechanbara}}'' games, this is a gameplay mechanic where slicing through hordes of [[ZombieApocalypse zombies]] (whose blood is probably well-rotted) without cleaning the blade can cause it to get stuck in the corpse, leaving the player vulnerable.* Ryu does this automatically with all of his weapons in ''NinjaGaiden 2''.** In ''NinjaGaiden''/''Black''/''Sigma'', he does it after using the new Ultimate Technique with the True Dragon Sword, Storm of the Heavenly Dragon.* Tyrants in ''Franchise/ResidentEvil'' seem to do this after they've [[ImpaledWithExtremePrejudice killed you.]]* In ''FireEmblem Radiant Dawn'' Ike's finish animation after killing an opponent includes him doing this twice.* One of Ukyo's win poses in ''SamuraiShodown''.* Vergil does this quite a few times with his sword, Yamato, in ''DevilMayCry 3''. [[note]]Those paying attention, however, will see that before he sheathes Yamato, he also wipes the blade by running it through the fingers of his left hand which is holding the sheath[[/note]]* Raidou Kuzunoha does this after every battle in ''RaidouKuzunohaVsTheSoullessArmy''.* Notably averted by Ryoma from ''PowerStone''; one of his victory poses involves him wiping off the blade with a few pieces of paper and letting them [[DramaticWind dramatically fly away in the breeze]].* Caim from ''VideoGame/{{Drakengard}}'' does a variation. He does the kill and the cleaning in the same swing.* Raiden can be seen doing this pretty much after an extended combo in ''VideoGame/MetalGearRisingRevengeance''.* [[TheLeader GySgt]] [[BadAss Edward]] [[SergeantRock Buck]] from ''VideoGame/Halo3ODST'' does this with his [[KnifeNut combat knife]] after stabbing a [[AlwaysChaoticEvil Brute]] [[TheBerserker Chieftan]] to death.* The winner of the duel in the intro video for ''Shogun2TotalWar'' does this before sheathing his sword. [[spoiler:Right before he got shot in the back by the beaten monk's allies in the fortress. UsefulNotes/TakedaShingen was not impressed.]]

[[AC:{{Western Animation}}]]* ''SamuraiJack'' does this after every fight, but generally with [[SymbolicBlood oil or somesuch.]] * In ''WesternAnimation/GIJoeResolute'', after finishing off a machine gun-equipped Cobra {{mook}} in a SingleStrokeBattle, Snake Eyes pulls off one of these.

[[AC:{{Real Life}}]]* A variant of this with no blood finishes off the modern fencing salute: {{Stab The Sky}}, {{Staring Through The Sword}} and Swipe Your Blade Off.----